


Wheel of the Year

by crystallineflowers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pagan Festivals, Slow Burn, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 10:03:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10683036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystallineflowers/pseuds/crystallineflowers
Summary: When Lance first meets Keith, it's at a Beltane festival. They don't actually speak, but Lance nearly steps into the fire because he was so entranced. And then Pidge has to go and invite him into their coven.





	Wheel of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was actually written for a class! I had to write something that would be challenged for censorship, so I went the "religion and gay" route. This was originally supposed to be around 3k... whoops. I got carried away. AND I cut off writing a lot.  
> I may come back and finish this, but knowing me, probably not. So just imagine how their relationship changes through all the Pagan holidays.

The first time they met, they didn't speak to each other. Lance saw him across the bonfire at the Beltane festival - a huge event, with hundreds of witches gathered in one place. The energy hummed around him, and Lance felt giddy. No matter how much they prepared for rituals, Lance and his coven had never reached this level of energy.

The beautiful boy locked eyes with him, and Lance felt all his breath leave in one fell swoop. His gaze was hypnotizing, and Lance found he couldn't look away. His hair was long, pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. Lance couldn't see his eyes well enough to know their color, but _gods_ , did he want to. Lance even found himself stepping forward - but then his friend's arms were barring his way from stepping directly into the fire. He looked to his friend, distracted, then back to the other boy, who was now looking away.

An equally attractive man was speaking to him as if they knew each other. Lance felt a strange jealousy rise up, and then he squashed it down. _'Today is for celebrating. It's summer! Just have fun with your friends. Besides, the ritual is about to start, and the spirits won't be happy with you if you're distracted.'_

Speaking of spirits, one walked into his field of vision - and she was so beautiful, Lance _almost_ forgot about the boy across the fire, who had now vanished. Almost.

Later, when his friend asked him what caused him to nearly walk into the fire, Lance brushed him off. It was nothing, just a distraction. After all, it had been a while since they'd felt that much energy. Lance could feel his friend worrying, but he thankfully let the subject drop.

* * *

 

It was the weekend after Beltane, which Lance was startled to realize was nearly a week ago. Had the week passed by that quickly? Time often got funny around the holidays - after all, Beltane was an important one, and emotions were running high. Lance almost felt hungover. He sighed to himself, causing his familiar, Blue, to chirp at him. He ran his hand down the cat's back for a moment before standing to tidy up the crystal display.

His back was to the door when he heard the bell chime. He quickly set down the crystals he was holding and turned around, plastering a smile on his face.

"Good morning! Welcome to Altea -" his voice cut off as he nearly choked. The person who entered was none other than the beautiful boy from the festival. His hair was down this time, just brushing his shoulders. He had tucked some of it behind one ear, which sported multiple piercings. Lance felt his mouth go dry as the other boy raised an eyebrow.

Lance cleared his throat. "C-can I help you find anything today?"

The boy shrugged, his sweater falling slightly down his shoulder, showing his collar bone. Lance tore his gaze away and tried to turn back to the crystals. "Okay, well, j-just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Lance felt his presence move away and found himself hoping that the boy wasn't an empath. Who knew what kind of ego that guy would have if he could tell what kind of effect he had on people. Lance could feel the indifference rolling off him in waves - maybe he wasn't an empath. Maybe Lance managed to avoid that awkward conversation. He took a steadying breath, looked to Blue for comfort, and got back to his crystal arranging.

The boy made his purchases and left without speaking a word to Lance, allowing him to avoid another stuttering encounter, but Pidge's knowing look from the counter told him that this might not be the end of it.

* * *

The third time, Lance hadn't even had time to recover.

"I invited him to our ritual," Pidge said in passing. Lance dropped his water bottle, spilling the contents on the counter. Blue gave him a reproachful look as he hurriedly cleaned up.

"W-why?"

They shrugged, feigning indifference, but Lance could feel the smugness from them. He narrowed his eyes, and they looked away, slightly sheepish. "He said he was looking for a coven. He and his friend are new in town, and they didn't find anyone interesting at the festival, so he started asking around."

"When did he tell you all this?"

Pidge grimaced. "I may have seen most of that earlier. All he actually said was that he was looking for a coven with his friend. So I invited him." They shot Lance a smile. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. You'll get along great."

"H-have you seen it?"

"Now, now, you know I don't disclose that kind of information."

"Piiiidge!"

"Pidge, whatever you're doing to torture Lance, stop it right now," Hunk's voice called as he stepped into the main shop. Lance draped himself dramatically across the counter in front of Pidge.

"My savior!"

Hunk patted his arm. "Come on, buddy. We've got a bit of setting up to do. Pidge, did you give that guy the address?"

They nodded, hopping off the stool and making their way around the counter, their laptop tucked under their arm. They aimed a kick at Lance as they moved, which he dodged with a yelp. "I'll lock up if you guys want to go ahead and start the prep. I'll just meet you there. That cool?"

Hunk nodded cheerfully and pulled Lance off the counter, sitting him upright. Lance, ever the drama queen, draped himself over Hunk's arm. The larger man held his weight with little effort. "Come on, buddy, we've got work to do."

Lance left with a little more complaining, but was thankful for a distraction from his whirlwind of thoughts. He felt one last wave of smugness from Pidge's direction, and then he was being pushed out of the shop by Hunk's gentle aura. Blue followed hot on his heels, and once Hunk stopped shoving him, Lance stopped and allowed her to climb up onto his shoulder.

"Hey, Hunk?" Lance said after a time. They walked by the flower shop, and Lance waved at the owner as they passed. Her magic permeated the area around her, and Lance breathed it in, reveling in the feel.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think this new guy is gonna think we're stupid?"

Hunk stumbled. "Why would he think that?"

Lance leveled a flat look at his friend. "Bro. Think about what this ritual is for. What if he shows up and just laughs at us?"

"Well, I'm sure Pidge told him what the ritual was for. I man, they wouldn't invite someone without telling them what to expect, you know?"

Lance turned back and focused his attention on the street, crossing when the light changed. Blue purred in his ear - she seemed to be feeling the residual happiness from the flower shop. Hunk clapped his hand on Lance's free shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Why are you worried, anyway?"

"N-no reason."

Lance hurried forward, preventing Hunk from asking any further questions.

The walk to the bus stop and the subsequent bus ride were pretty uneventful, aside from an incident in which Blue almost got in a fight with another witch's familiar. There was also a detour they had to take around a fairy circle - Lance felt the pull of magic, and reached out to take Hunk's arm to prevent himself from following it.

They arrived at Allura's without any further problems, and Lance stopped by the low brick wall to let Blue down. She vanished into the bushes, probably looking for the other familiars.

"Lance!" a voice rang out from the front porch of the large manor in front of him. Occasionally, Lance would forget that Allura was a fairy - but then he would see her again, and her stellar beauty would charm him. She met Lance and Hunk halfway down the walkway, embracing them in turn and bestowing light kisses on their cheeks. "Where is Pidge?"

"They volunteered to lock up the shop so that we could come down here and finish the preparations for tonight," Hunk said. "They also invited someone new, is that okay?"

Allura smiled brightly, and Lance had to take a moment to remind himself to breathe. "Of course! We've got plenty of room. Come on in, there's much work to be done." She tucked a stray hair behind her pointed ear and led the way into the house.

The energy as Lance stepped over the threshold was unreal. He stumbled, and Allura gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about that, Lance, I should have warned you. It's been like this since Beltane."

Hunk looked worried. "Even I can feel that. You gonna be okay, buddy?"

Lance took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be fine. Just wasn't expecting it. No biggie, just means it should be super easy to do what we want to do."

The rest of the house was filled with the same energy that hit him like a truck. Coran, Allura's uncle, was busy setting up candles in the ritual room. Lance and Hunk dropped their things against the wall and got to work, quickly falling into a rhythm of drawing sigils inside the summoning circle. Lance found himself thinking of the mystery boy who would be joining them, and whether or not he should count on him to join the circle.

Hunk's energy beside him was a calming presence, and it wasn't until Lance looked at him that he realized he was _glowing_. Lance gasped and dropped his chalk, causing the larger boy to look at him in alarm.

"You okay?"

"Hunk, buddy, you're glowing!"

"What?" He held his arm up and stared at it. "No, I'm not."

Lance reached out and grabbed him. "You totally are!" He stared as the glow surrounding his friend swirled, changing from a deep golden orange to something brighter. Lance could feel his confusion - wait, feel?

"Wait a minute..." he mumbled, holding the arm closer. He faintly heard Allura speaking to someone at the front door, and he nearly yelped when a new presence slammed into his consciousness. He snapped his head up to see Pidge walking into the room, their body glowing a faint earthy green.

"Pidge! Come here, I need to see something!" They grimaced, but joined him and Hunk anyway. Lance unceremoniously grabbed their arm and held it next to Hunk's. Pidge's green glow merged with Hunk's orange, somehow forming a calm, warm brown.

"What's going on, Lance?" Allura's voice asked. Lance looked up at her and blinked - she was glowing a bright silver blue, her facial markings lighting up like they did during rituals.

"Okay, guys, don't call me crazy or anything, but I'm pretty sure you're all glowing. Am I glowing? Is this normal? Allura, you look like you do when we do magic. What's going on?"

Allura's brows furrowed in confusion as everyone stared at him, and then she snapped her fingers, comprehension washing over her face. "I know what this is! Lance, you're an empath!"

"..... Yeah? I thought we established that a while ago."

"No, you don't understand!" She approached him quickly and took his hand in hers. "With all this residual energy from Beltane, you must be able to actually see auras!" She grinned at him. "You see, we fairies can see auras normally, but empaths can usually only feel them. It makes sense that the extra energy is helping your gift!"

Lance smiled softly. "Oh. That's cool, I wonder if -" he cut off with a choke as another presence entered the house - strong and loud and _red_ , even though he hadn't actually seen it yet. Behind, another aura, this one calm and collected and safe. Lance turned to see Coran lead two new people into the ritual room.

The boy with the black hair and the fiery aura stepped in first, and Lance felt like he couldn't breathe for reasons totally unrelated to his empathy. Allura turned to look at them, and Lance thought he saw her flinch.

"Oh, I'm glad you guys made it," Pidge spoke up, startling Lance into breathing again. After the initial shock, he realized that he was already used to the new presence. The boy's friend from the Beltane festival walked in next, drawing Allura's eye.

"Yeah, it wasn't hard to find," the taller man said, speaking for both of them. He held a hand out to Pidge, and Lance realized it was a prosthetic. "I'm Shiro. You've already met Keith."

Keith. His name was Keith. Lance wasn't sure why that was so important to him.

Pidge shook the prosthetic hand without blinking. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pidge, the big guy over there is Hunk, that loser is Lance -"

"Hey!"

"- this is Allura, and I'm sure Coran introduced himself."

"Mind if I ask your specialties?" Shiro asked, folding his arms gently across his chest, and _holy shit those biceps_.

Allura stepped forward, shooting Shiro her most winning smile. "Well, Coran and I work best with emotions. We also work to keep circles stable, and to keep emotions in check."

"I'm a tech witch," Pidge piped up, "but I love cosmic stuff, too."

"I just really like rocks," Hunk chimed in as he stepped forward and shook Shiro and Keith's hands in turn. "But if you need a charm for anything, I'm your man."

It seemed like all eyes turned to Lance. He coughed, his face heating up. "I-I'm an empath. And with all this weird energy around, I can kinda see auras, I guess? That's a new thing. I mean, it's totally cool and all, but -"

"Lance, you're rambling," Pidge said flatly. Lance laughed awkwardly and held his hand behind his neck.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, how about we get started?" Hunk said, thankfully directing the attention away from Lance. He sent his best friend a thankful glance and moved to take his spot in the circle they had finished. Hunk busied himself with placing people around the circle - unfortunately, that meant that Keith ended up next to Lance, and Lance found himself staring at the floor to avoid staring at the boy next to him.

Allura stood in the center of the circle, offering herself as a focal point. She called the shots, and suddenly the air in the room shifted, and Lance felt truly calm. In fact, he didn't just feel calm - he felt how calm everyone else was. It was odd, but he felt as if he knew what the other people in the circle were thinking. It was as if they were one being, moving in sync to light the candles at their feet, to raise their arms and focus their energy into the center.

He provided the mental drive behind the spell, visualizing his goal. And then the room changed again, and Lance opened his eyes - when had he closed them? - to see a spirit latched onto Allura's soft shoulders.

_"Lance!_ _¿_ _Por qué me llamaste? Esto mejor no ser algo tonto -"_

"Abuela! Ellos no hablan español! I know you know English, and you were always yelling at me to be polite!" Lance interrupted, gathering his strength from Hunk's calming presence to his right. The glare his grandmother's spirit sent him was so icy that he actually felt a chill.

_"If they do not speak Spanish, you should not have spoken it, either!"_

Lance grimaced. "Yes, Abuela."

_"Well? Why did you call me?"_

He cleared his throat and hesitated, then spoke at Hunk's urging. Lance didn't stop to think _how_ he knew that Hunk was urging him on without looking at him. "Abuela, you may think I'm silly for this, but mamá doesn't know the answer so..." he paused for dramatic effect, even going so far as to waggle his eyebrows at Pidge across the circle. "I need your empanada recipe!"

A beat of silence.

Then wind howling, and the spirit getting as close to Lance as she could.

_"_ _¿En serio ahora mismo? Me llamaste aquí solo por eso! No puedo creer esto, que perdida de tiempo -"_

"Abuela, please! I'm craving them! And Hunk is, too! You wouldn't deny Hunk his empanadas, would you?" Lance gave the best puppy look he could muster.

Another beat of silence. Then a sigh.

_"Only for him."_

"And me, too, Abuela."

_"I suppose you, too, mi querido."_

And then Allura was channeling her energy into the notebook laid out for that specific purpose, and Lance watched, ecstatic, as the old family recipe was copied in perfect Spanish.

Lance spent a few moments talking to his beloved grandmother before allowing her to leave. She graced him with a ghostly kiss and vanished as quickly as she had come. Strangely, the energy in the room didn't go down - it seemed to increase from the ritual.

The room was silent for a while. And then:

"We did all that for a god damned _recipe?_ "

Of course, the cute boy next to him had to go and ruin his image by opening his _stupid mouth._ Lance scoffed and stepped out of the circle, taking the notebook from Allura.

"You'll understand if you ever try these, Keithy boy."

He scowled. "What makes you think I'll ever see you again?"

Shiro stepped to Keith and placed his prosthetic hand on his shoulder. From the way Keith flinched, Lance imagined it must have been heavy. "I think it's time we head home."

Home? That wasn't fair, how did those two attractive guys get to - wait, no, they weren't attractive! Or, at least, Lance didn't think they were. Shiro was just really chill, and Keith gave off that bad boy vibe. Yeah, it was totally from their weird auras.

Keith turned away from Lance, said goodbye to the rest of the room, and began making his way out. Lance faintly heard Shiro apologizing for his behavior and following him out.

Keith was _never_ going to try these empanadas.

* * *

 

The fourth time they met, Keith actually did get to try the empanadas.

Pidge, much to Lance's chagrin, had extended an invitation to the prickly witch and his friend to join them for Coran's birthday. Lance made the empanadas not knowing that Keith would be there, and when Pidge told him that day that the other two would be coming, he gasped indignantly.

"Well, we have to make sure he doesn't get any of these empanadas!"

Pidge didn't even look up from their laptop as they organized a party playlist. "And why not?"

"Because he was a jerk! He doesn't get to taste this deliciousness!"

"Okay, Lance."

He brandished a fork at them. "I'm serious!"

They didn't say anything else, so Lance let the subject drop. He turned his attention to the fryer, which was now hot enough to cook the empanadas. He busied himself with cooking them, pouting in Pidge's direction as he waited.

Hunk was the next to arrive, followed closely by Shiro and Keith. Keith, at least, had the decency to look uncomfortable. Even his aura was muted. Lance realized that it had been almost two weeks since the ritual, but he was still able to see auras. He found himself wondering if this was just the way things were now.

Keith, much to Lance's surprise, walked right up to him. Lance stared at him wide-eyed as he shuffled his feet, looking nervous. Keith took a deep breath and finally brought his eyes to Lance's - he was surprised to see that they were a dark grey, almost purple. Lance wondered what kind of magic he had to have purple eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Lance gaped. Keith huffed and held a hand up, pushing against Lance's chin with a finger. Lance snapped his mouth shut and shook his head, turning back quickly to the empanadas.

"Uh, what are you sorry for?"

Keith sighed like he was doing a chore. "For being an ass."

Lance glanced at him as he pulled the empanadas out of the fryer. "Are you apologizing because you want to taste these delicious empanadas?"

"No, I'm apologizing because I was an ass." Finished with his work, Lance turned to Keith and stared at him, his aura glowing a muted red. He couldn't sense any animosity from Keith, just embarrassment. He nodded, almost to himself, and held his hand out.

"Start over? I'm Lance, an empath and an ocean witch."

Keith gripped the offered hand tightly. "Keith. Cosmic witch who really likes burning things."

Lance snorted. "Yeah, I can tell."

"You can?"

"Dude, you smell like a campfire."

* * *

 

The fifth time they met was only a few days later. Same with the sixth. And the seventh.

Lance saw Keith often - sometimes Shiro was with him, sometimes he wasn't. He had learned in a game of Truth or Dare (for some reason, the fairies loved this game) that Keith and Shiro were adoptive brothers, and that Shiro's family had adopted Keith when he was about eight years old. He learned that Keith was awful with tarot, while Shiro was one of the best diviner's he'd ever met. He learned that Keith really liked burning his sigils to activate them, and he often had burns on his fingers.

Lance, of course, told Keith quite a bit about himself. As it turned out, after their initial meeting, he and Keith got along pretty well. Keith's personality was fiery, which Lance supposed made sense given his magical preferences.

It was on one of Keith's visits to the store that Lance finally plucked up the courage to ask Keith the question that had been burning within him since Coran's birthday party.

"So, Keithy-boy, are you, uh, busy this weekend?"

Keith looked at him in surprise. "Um, no?"

"Cool, cool. Anyway, Pidge asked me for some driftwood for something. Honestly I don't know why they need it, they usually use tech for a charm, but they asked, so I'm going to the beach this weekend to find some andIwaswonderingifyouwantedtocomewithme."

Keith blinked. "Repeat that last bit?"

Lance took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. To the beach. You know, to find driftwood and stuff. Maybe you can use some in your spells? Unless you don't wanna go, it's fine, you don't have to -"

Keith slapped a hand over Lance's mouth, causing his face to flush. "Chill. I-I'd like to go." Was Keith's face pink? No, it must have been those stupid lights that Pidge had Lance string around the store last week.

"Mmmph?" Keith removed his hand from Lance's mouth, so Lance repeated himself. "Really?"

Keith looked away. "Y-yeah. I've never used driftwood in my spells, might make things interesting."

Lance beamed.

* * *

 

The next time they met, Lance was waiting for Keith at the bus stop. Lance tapped his foot impatiently, clenching his hands into fists in his pockets. Why was he so nervous? Was it because Keith was attractive? No, that wasn't it - Lance had long since realized that he wasn't straight. Too many guys drew his eye for him to like just girls.

Maybe it was because they got along so well, and Lance was worried that Keith wouldn't enjoy himself today. Yes, that was it. He was worried as a friend. That was all. Totally.

"Lance!" a voice called, causing him to turn his head. Keith was approaching the bus stop, waving. Lance had to take a moment to breath - by the gods, Keith was wearing a tank top. As he neared, Lance could clearly see the definition of his muscles. How much did this guy work out?

He snapped out of his staring when Keith stopped beside him, a worried look on his face. "You okay, man?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Totally good. Just, uh, ready for the bus to get here. I'm really impatient when it comes to the beach, you know?"

Keith laughed, and Lance thought that it was the best sound he had heard all week. "Well, I guess it makes sense, being an ocean witch and all."

The bus pulled up then, saving Lance from having to make a reply, and the trip to the beach was filled with light-hearted banter. Keith told Lance about the sigils he recently made - he was wearing a small charm around his neck with a sigil to protect against sunburn. Lance laughed at that.

"You know you can just use sunscreen, man!"

"Yeah, well, this is easier, and it works!" Keith's aura flared, but the red was a happy red, and Lance knew he wasn't actually upset.

When they reached the beach, Lance practically sprinted to the waterside, leaving Keith in the dust. Lance kicked off his sandals at the end of the walkway and reveled in the feel of the sand between his toes.

He was standing at the edge of the water, breathing in the scent of salt, when Keith approached him again. They stood in companionable silence for a few moments, enjoying the atmosphere of the ocean. Lance could feel the presence of spirits here, ever active after Beltane. How long had it been since this surge in magic?

"It feels nice out here," Keith said quietly.

"It always does."

"No, not the weather, Lance. I mean it's calming. I don't really know how to explain it..."

Lance turned and grinned at Keith, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to. I understand. Come on, let's find that driftwood for Pidge."

They found plenty of driftwood for both of them. And if they got into a splash fight in the shallows while looking for sand dollars, well, Lance wasn't about to question it.

* * *

 

Midsummer was fast approaching. Lance was busy preparing for the massive bonfire by collecting as much driftwood as the sea would give him. He made tea candles out of seashells, bleached dead sand dollars he found, and collected sharks' teeth into little bottles for his friends. Whenever he worked a shift at the shop, he brought his charm materials with him, and focused all of his energy into weaving bracelets and necklaces with the teeth he found.

Keith visited nearly every day, mostly to talk. He occasionally bought something to support the store, although they stayed busy enough that it wasn't necessary. He mainly sat on the counter, kicking his feet against the boards, and chatted with Lance. Hunk and Pidge had seemed to take a liking to him, too, and when Shiro walked in with Keith one day and picked up conversations with everyone, Lance realized that somehow, both of them had joined their coven.

There was never an official invitation. Keith never called anyone in the group his coven members. Pidge never mentioned him and Shiro being a part of the group. But Shiro never treated Lance any differently than he did Keith. Keith grinned at Hunk whenever he saw him and got into deep conversations about aliens with Pidge. He teased Lance and befriended Allura easily. He listened to Coran's stories from when the fairy was younger. He gave out sigil charms, charred from the fire, for protection and happiness and focus. He left charcoal fingerprints on the counters and on Lance's arms when they fell over each other laughing at Pidge's flat humor or Shiro's obvious crush on Allura.

And with this realization came something else - a realization that the fluttery feeling in his stomach whenever Keith was around wasn't just because they were friends. It was because he wanted to be _more_ than friends. And Lance... wasn't quite sure what to do with that information. What did he do now? He was pretty sure that Keith was straight, so even if he _did_ manage to pluck up the courage to do something about it, it didn't matter.

When he approached Hunk with this problem, he was leveled with a flat stare.

"What?"

"Dude. If Keith is straight, then I'm actually a fairy in disguise."

"... Are you?"

"Gods, Lance, just tell him!"

"No, I can't!" Lance wailed, draping himself over Hunk's arm. "What if he _is_ straight? What if he turns me down? What if he likes me _back?!_ "

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Hunk shifted his weight and continued searching through his box of crystals, seemingly disinterested in the conversation.

"I can't do it. I just can't."

But by the time he was done talking to Hunk, he had decided to do it. He would talk to Keith at the Midsummer festival. What better day to ask someone out than at a festival? Wait, no, it would be better to ask him to go to the festival together. That was a good idea. But how did he go about it? Did he just ask him?

An idea struck Lance. He was already making charmed jewelry for his friends - he could just make an extra special one for Keith! One that would encourage Keith to act on any feelings he had for Lance. Now, he knew this could backfire horribly - what if Keith secretly hated him, and instead of doing something nice, Keith just punched him in the face? Or cursed him? Lance knew Keith wasn't above cursing people who pissed him off. Even in the short time they'd known each other, Lance had seen Keith cast multiple hexes.

He could act normally. After all, they were friends. Keith probably didn't want to be anything more. Lance was struggling to convince himself that he would be okay with that.

And then there was the tiny possibility that Keith liked Lance back. After all, Keith did seem to smile a lot in Lance's presence. And there was a lot of casual touching that Keith didn't allow anyone else to do. Did that mean something? Lance didn't know. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

He poured his energy into the necklace, tying one of the larger shark teeth at the bottom as a pendant. He weaved black leather cord around a dark red one, tying knots as he went, willing his intent to stay knotted in the piece. He even added a few dark shells with pretty grey flecks to break up the monotony.

He showed the finished piece to Hunk, who gave his approval. Lance decided he would give it to Keith at the festival, so as to avoid the awkwardness of avoiding each other during it. Hopefully he could get Keith alone long enough to give it to him.

* * *

 

The day of the festival had arrived, and Keith and Shiro met the rest of the coven at Allura's family home. The solstice was proving to be extremely hot, and Lance was thankful he had decided to wear shorts and a billowy shirt. The slight breeze gave him all the relief from the heat he needed.

Lance decided to give everyone the charms he made while at the festival, and he told them so as they headed out with their supplies. Keith helped him carry the driftwood he had collected and carved, some of the pieces bearing sigils of Keith's own design.

The party was in full swing when they arrived, the bonfire already going strong. There were even more people than there were at Beltane, but there was only one fire. As witches arrived, they added their own ingredients to the fire, causing colorful sparks and interesting smells. Lance and his coven took turns adding pieces of driftwood, and once Lance tossed his last piece into the fire, Keith tapped on his shoulder. He was holding out a small piece that Lance hadn't noticed. It was nearly covered in sigils.

"What's this?"

Keith's face seemed pink as he looked away. "Just something I made. Go on, just take it. It's the last piece."

Lance took it gingerly, staring down at the sigils. He recognized a few of them - happiness, courage, strong emotion, focus. But the rest of them were totally new. He glanced at Keith, who made a "shoo" motion with his hands, prompting Lance to toss the piece into the fire. He then took a deep breath and reached into his pockets, pulling out the bags that contained everyone's charms he made.

"Alright, guys, now you can have your charms!" He passed the bags out - color-coded to their aura colors - but kept the bag holding Keith's real charm to himself. He didn't want to give Keith that when they were surrounded by people.

A series of appreciative coos washed over him, and he could feel that everyone genuinely liked the charms he made them. He watched as people put them on - Allura's headband to hold back her hair; Pidge's anklet, out of the way for their tech magic; Hunk's long necklace with a chunk of quartz that Lance had managed to find on the beach; Coran's necklace with pieces of sea glass to match his mustache; Shiro's bracelet for the prosthetic arm for better control and mobility; and Keith's bracelet for controlled emotions and prevention of burns. Lance felt proud of himself.

His coven gave him their thanks, and then began to make their way outward to check out the festival. Lance lingered by the bonfire. Was Keith lingering, too? Did Keith want to talk to him? He felt nervous, and Lance quickly realized that nervousness was not just his own, but also Keith's. What did Keith have to be nervous about?

Keith touched Lance's arm lightly, causing him to jump. When did Keith step that close?

"Hey, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to... I don't know... uh, check out the festival... together?" Keith stuttered out, his voice turning up at the end and forming a question. Lance blinked at him. Keith's eyes widened and he backpedaled quickly. "I mean, you totally don't have to! I just thought, I don't know -"

Reminiscent of when Keith had done the same thing, Lance held a hand up and clamped it over Keith's mouth. He composed himself enough to smile brightly at Keith. "That sounds like a great idea. I... well, I was actually going to ask you the same thing." He wasn't, actually, but he had thought about it, and that was close enough.

Keith knocked Lance's hand away. "You were?"

"Uh, yeah..."

Keith grinned. "Guess I beat you to it. Come on, let's go check out stuff." He began to walk away, looking at Lance over his shoulder. Lance sputtered and ran to catch up with him.

"N-not everything is a competition!"

 

 

It wasn't until much later that evening, when the sun had long since fallen and the moon was high in the sky, that Lance managed to get Keith alone. He had pulled Keith away to go to the nearest fairy circle with Allura and Coran, but they left soon after, and Lance found himself and Keith alone in the woods. He could hear the voices of other witches coming from the festival not far away. Someone could easily stumble upon them. Lance took a deep breath to steel himself, and then stepped forward, pulling the extra bag out of his pocket. Keith looked at him in confusion.

"What's up?"

"I, uh, made you another charm."

"Wait, really?" He took the bag gently, pulling out the necklace. His hands froze when he laid eyes on it.

"I just, um, wanted to make you one. I don't know. But it would mean a lot to me if you wore it. I mean, you don't have to, but..." he trailed off and watched as Keith finally moved, rolling the necklace around in his hands. He held it up to study it in the light of the moon. "Um, it's got red and black cord, 'cause your aura is red to me so I associate it with you. I made it to help -"

"I don't need to know why you made it," Keith said quietly, cutting him off. Lance gulped as Keith slowly tied the necklace around his neck. The shark's tooth pendant sat just below the hollow of his throat. He turned slightly and held his hair up with one hand. "C-can you make sure it's tied tightly enough?"

Lance tried not to make it obvious that his hands were shaking as he tied the knot tighter. When it was done, his hands lingered for longer than he expected them to - get a _grip_ , Lance, come on!

"Thank you," Keith said, his voice so quiet Lance could barely hear it, even with how close he was. Wait, why was he so close? Keith turned around slowly to face Lance. Was he blushing? Why weren't they moving away from each other? Lance could barely breathe. There was something about the moonlight that was making Keith look more beautiful than usual.

"Lance," Keith breathed, "why did you really make this?"

Something inside Lance clicked as Keith's aura blended with his own. "Why did you make me that driftwood wand?"

Keith smiled softly. "I think you know why."

Lance's hand tightened on Keith's arm - holy _shit_ , he definitely worked out, and when did Lance get his hand there, anyway? "You wouldn't happen to have put some sigils on there to, um... act on whatever feelings are present, did you?"

Keith inched closer. "And if I did?"

"Then I suppose great minds think alike, because that is for sure what I did." He was close, so close. Keith's eyes really did look purple this close. Lance was grateful for the two inch difference in their heights - this close to each other, Keith had to turn his head up slightly to look him in the eye.

Lance felt a jab of amusement. "Well?"

"Uh, well what?"

Keith rolled his eyes and smiled. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

Lance kissed him.

* * *

 

When Lance saw the lovely boy across the bonfire, he grinned. Hunk patted his arm as he made his way around the fire this time - he was never going to live down the fact that he nearly stepped into a fire the first time he saw Keith - and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.

"Hey, babe, having a nice Beltane?"

Keith leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I am." He paused and gave Lance a long look. "You know, I'm glad I came here last year."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you."

Lance made a noise that was more like a screech and buried his face into Keith's neck, causing him to laugh. "You can't just say things like that, Keith!" He felt arms wrap around his waist as Keith caught his breath.

"Sorry, I just like making you react."

Lance stood up straight and surprised Keith by kissing him full on the mouth, in front of everyone. He distantly heard Pidge whistling at them.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

**Author's Note:**

> *edit*  
> Oh my gosh I'm??? The response to this has been SO positive and I don't think you guys quite understand just how happy that makes me. I literally scream every time I get a comment and I'm SO HAPPY to see all the kudos and bookmarks! You guys are the sweetest and I love you all <3


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